Beverage Package - medical exemption?

[sail7seas]

And what if I'm traveling with someone who is pregnant? Seems she wouldn't be required to buy one, but that makes sense.

 

Good question. (assuming you mean sharing a cabin?) Traveling with is quite different.

 

 

The list of 'what ifs' can be endless.

Edited August 25, 2018 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

My husband got a note from his heart doctor yesterday. We don't sail until November, so I am not sure who to send it to, or when, but I will update this thread once I do.

 

Thanks again to all the folks that contributed helpful comments and suggestions!

 

 

his cardiologist doesn't want him drinking because of heart issues? Some cardiologists encourage moderate drinking Mine has well approved me having a glass of wine or two :0 Of course there are all sorts of heart disease and varied severity.

[dee2673]

There’s a variety of heart conditions. I would presume at least one or two of the many would prohibit drinking alcohol. Just MHO but a medical condition with a verifiable doctors note would seem to be a very reasonable situation not be forced to buy the second beverage package. Of course , the requirement of everyone in the cabin having one is to ensure it doesn’t get shared. But it doesn’t completely stop the sharing. We have friends we cruise with who had the package. We did not. My friend wanted to just go to the bar and buy a drink and give it to me. I said no because I didn’t want anyone to be embarrassed and I had plenty of OBC anyway. But what was to stop her, especially if we left the bar area? I’d not do it but I’d wager others do.

 

 

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[bluegiraffe]

And, ^^ is a good reason for them to say 'NO'. If they made an exception for that person and they ran to the internet to tell the world. now others in the www also want an. exception. people cannot keep some things to themselves and human nature runs to tell the world. HAL should say NO, IMO

 

If OP gets away wirh it, I hope she keeps it to herrself.. :) JMO Why would HAL say okay again?? ;D

 

If HAL says yes to the OP, as it apparently has to several others, what exactly is it that the OP is "getting away with"?

[dznymom]

his cardiologist doesn't want him drinking because of heart issues? Some cardiologists encourage moderate drinking Mine has well approved me having a glass of wine or two :0 Of course there are all sorts of heart disease and varied severity.

 

Seriously Dude? My husband cannot drink alcohol, period. End of story.

[sail7seas]

Seriously Dude? My husband cannot drink alcohol, period. End of story.

 

 

 

 

i NOT a Dude

Seriously,

Women also get heart disease.

[sevenseasnomad]

In this computer era, it is so easy to produce a 'document at will. How do they know if one is legitimate?

 

I do not think they would (or should) make an exception to their rule Rules are for all of us? If they give you a pass, what about all the others who do not want to pay for two packages? Where is the line drawn? I suggest the line is the rule is made cl lear and hat is that. They drew the line when they made the rule known .

Agree with everyone else; however, you might consider a notarized statement from your doctor, but it would be complicated to do it. Unless someone in the doctor's office is a notary as was the case when I worked for a group of internists in another lifetime. Just a suggestion.

[TAD2005]

The Signature Beverage Package (SBP) only will pay for itself if you consume more than 6 mixed drinks a day at $7.50 plus 15% service charge. If you only drink beer, or one or 2 mixed drinks, or just a glass of wine at dinner, save your money and pay as you go.

The "both must purchase" policy came about after beverage packages became popular. Anytime you provide a special deal, some people, will try to figure out a way to scam it. Drink sharing was widespread across the industry. Cruise lines used different methods to curtail the practice. Some just raised the daily price to a level that if sharing happened, they wouldn't lose too much. Others, like HAL kept their daily price low at $44.95 per day, and established the "both must buy" policy. But in all cases, the bartenders and waiters are trained to spot sharing and if so inclined, they will report it. You can lose your beverage package, with no refund, no pro-rating, and all drinks consumed will be billed to your cabin account. However, the problem with this policy is enforcement. If there is a bar manager or other high level manager around, and you try to sneak a shared drink to a friend, the waiter will turn you in, mostly to save his job. If no managers are around, then the waiter will probably let it slide, because he gets the 15% service charge on any drink, and he doesn't really care who drinks it.

[sail7seas]

Agree with everyone else; however, you might consider a notarized statement from your doctor, but it would be complicated to do it. Unless someone in the doctor's office is a notary as was the case when I worked for a group of internists in another lifetime. Just a suggestion.

 

I am surrounded by a number of notaries but have no need for an

 

exception (medical letter ) from my cardiologist

 

 

He approves of moderate consumption of ine and I now travel as a solo , alone in my cabin. I have never bought a beverage package but ordered and paid for drinks whehn I wanted one. :)

[SetAnOpenCourse]

FWIW, with me HAL could come out ahead if they allowed a drink package to be bought just by me. My spouse will not drink, never had a drink. On our cruises, it tends to be the only week of the year that I do not drink, due to my cost-consciousness. :o

I’d have to do the math though, as six drinks in a day would be “turning it up a notch” (or two!:D).

[kazu]

The thing to keep in mind is that it is worth checking for each cruise if there is an Explore4 package.

 

On our P'dam cruise it is practically $50 CDN per day (that's a lot less than USD) and on our Zaandam, it's $39 CDN per day. That doesn't take into account the $200 OBC USD that we get.

 

Keep in mind that right now, sadly, $50 Cdn is only around $38 USD pp so, taking into account the 15% service charge, 4 drinks easily cover the bill. Or atlernatively, 2 drinks, water, mocktails, gingerale, etc.

[kazu]

The thing to keep in mind is that it is worth checking for each cruise if there is an Explore4 package.

 

On our P'dam cruise it is practically $50 CDN per day (that's a lot less than USD) and on our Zaandam, it's $39 CDN per day. That doesn't take into account the $200 OBC USD that we get.

 

Keep in mind that right now, sadly, $50 Cdn is only around $38 USD pp so, taking into account the 15% service charge, 4 drinks easily cover the bill. Or atlernatively, 2 drinks, water, mocktails, gingerale, etc.

 

Apologies, my edit didn't take :(

 

If one person can't imbibe and the other can, then if the scenario works the one who can enjoy should. The medical exception makes total sense IMO.

[sail7seas]

I VERY rarely would have one cocktail. I almost exclusively have wine if I have alcohol.

.

[Toofarfromthesea]

I am surrounded by a number of notaries but have no need for an

 

exception (medical letter ) from my cardiologist

 

 

He approves of moderate consumption of ine and I now travel as a solo , alone in my cabin. I have never bought a beverage package but ordered and paid for drinks whehn I wanted one. :)

 

Gee, I guess there is only one kind of heart disease.

[edgee]

People, this "both must buy rule" is a mean spirited ripoff on so many levels. A multitude of other cruise lines are quite financially healthy and without this requirement. My wife cannot drink for medical reasons...we are returning to try HAL after a 10 year hiatus and just learned of the rule after booking. While looking forward to our upcoming HAL cruise,it is likely we will return to Celebrity primarily because of the cloud this rule casts on our feeling like an appreciated, trusted customer.

Edited August 26, 2018 by edgee

[dee2673]

People, this "both must buy rule" is a mean spirited ripoff on so many levels. A multitude of other cruise lines are quite financially healthy and without this requirement. My wife cannot drink for medical reasons...we are returning to try HAL after a 10 year hiatus and just learned of the rule after booking. While looking forward to our upcoming HAL cruise,it is likely we will return to Celebrity primarily because of the cloud this rule casts on our feeling like an appreciated, trusted customer.

 

 

 

It is unfortunate that folks must have taken advantage of this and ruined it for others. Do you have the package with Explore4? We usually have significant OBC that covers most of our expenses including our drinking. Perhaps you’d consider the path taken by the OP and obtain a medical note ahead of time so you do not have to purchase both. I don’t know why Celebrity doesn’t enforce it since HAL is owned by the same corporation . You’d think they’d be consistent

 

 

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[edgee]

It is unfortunate that folks must have taken advantage of this and ruined it for others. Do you have the package with Explore4? We usually have significant OBC that covers most of our expenses including our drinking. Perhaps you’d consider the path taken by the OP and obtain a medical note ahead of time so you do not have to purchase both. I don’t know why Celebrity doesn’t enforce it since HAL is owned by the same corporation . You’d think they’d be consistent

 

 

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You are incorrect. Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean. Holland America is owned by Carnival Corp.

[TAD2005]

I wouldn't say a "multitude" of other cruise lines do not have a "both must buy" policy. Checkout the Cruise Critic, nicely done article on the major cruise lines and their beverage packages and prices. Pay particular attention to the "Fine Print" paragraph for each line which specifies the restrictions on each package.

The cruise line that everyone seems to use as an example as the "best deal" is Celebrity. They have 3 packages. The bare bones package is $45 a day, but drinks are limited to $6 each. You can't get many mixed drinks on Celebrity for $6. The next package is their "standard", which costs $55 per day, and that has a per-drink limit of $9, same as HAL. Their "Premium" package is $65 a day, and has a per-drink cap of $13, less that HAL's Elite package. Also, all packages are plus 18% service charge, 3% more than HAL's. Celebrity is one of the few listed on the CC article (https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1470) that does not require "both must buy".

[dee2673]

You are incorrect. Celebrity is owned by Royal Caribbean. Holland America is owned by Carnival Corp.

 

 

 

Well You ARE correct. I don’t know why I thought that but thank you for the info

 

 

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